Facing a two-strike count with two outs in the seventh inning, Potomac Falls slugger Ryan Miller wasn’t looking for a fastball from Broad Run’s crafty lefty Brandon Craft.

So when the senior saw a curveball hanging up in the zone, he was ready.

As Miller’s deep blast bounded toward the left-center field fence during the Dulles District championship baseball game May 26 at Tuscarora High School in Leesburg, two other Panthers were racing around to score go-ahead runs.

“I didn’t think he was going to come with a fastball,” said Miller, who’d been intentionally walked by Craft two innings prior. “I was going to see it up. So when I saw a curve I just waited back on it and hope to god I hit it.”

What had been a 1-1 defensive struggle through six innings suddenly seemed to break open to a late 3-1 Panther lead. A vocal throng of Potomac Falls supporters roared.

“I just knew that if we pushed one across, Jackson would shut it down,” said Miller, called “Jigz” by teammates.

Jackson Rogers, Potomac Falls’ ace right-hander, made the two-run cushion stand in the bottom of the seventh, finishing off what he began.

“They’re solid hitters, one through nine, so I was just keeping the ball low and letting my defense work,” said Rogers, who induced a pair of double plays on the night.

Rogers started the game hot, striking out the first three Spartans he saw and facing the minimum through three frames. He spoke about pitching in a close-fought contest.

“It makes you feel the need to carry your team a little bit and keep runners off the bases,” he said.

The Panthers (20-3) will enter the Region II tournament winners of 14 straight and 18 of their last 19.

The Spartans (19-3) pressured Rogers in their last at-bat, putting the potential tying run on first with one out. But Broad Run’s AJ Powell bounced Rogers’ first offering directly back to the Panther pitcher, who started a snappy 1-5-3 across-the-diamond double play.

It was a fitting end to an enthralling ballgame played at a competitive level worthy of more than a district tourney.

Good game

“Terrific game,” Broad Run coach Pat Cassidy exclaimed. “Both teams played well. Just to their credit they got the big hit when they needed it. But I guess that’s how district championships are supposed to finish, with the two best teams coming down to the last inning.”

Potomac Falls coach Joe Terango made it through yet another meaningful tilt between his and Cassidy’s teams.

“Broad Run’s always very, very competitive and Pat always has his team ready to play,” Terango said. “We outmatched them when it came down to the end, but it could have been anyone’s ballgame.”

The matchup could have been anticipated to be low-scoring, with Rogers facing off against Broad Run’s sensational sophomore Powell. The hard-throwing righty shut down the Panthers earlier this season, going the distance in a 7-1 Spartan win March 29.

This time around, the Panthers made Powell work much harder. The Spartan starter allowed just one unearned run and struck out five, but racked up 70 pitches in three innings before giving way to Craft.

“We’ve had a different approach at the plate the last eight or 10 games,” Terango said. “Early on I think everyone was trying to win the game themselves; now we’re hitting our pitch and not the pitcher’s pitch, and it’s working out.”

Cassidy, already assured of a Region II tourney berth, was not going to burn Powell for longer.

“We wanted to win tonight, but we’re focused on next week, so regardless of how many innings he got, we want him ready for next week,” the Spartan coach said.

Craft was tasked with keeping Broad Run in the game, which he did. The senior breezed through three scoreless frames while his teammates tied the game in the fourth on a Shea Bargiel RBI single.

Thanks in part to a series of fine defensive plays—particularly by the two second basemen, Broad Run’s Chris Johnson and Potomac Falls’ Tyler Caldwell—the contest remained knotted at 1-1, setting the stage for Miller’s final-inning heroics.

Terango said Rogers was capped at 90 pitches, so he would have been relieved by Stephen Fisher had the Dulles title game gone beyond regulation.

It’s not the first time the two schools competed in a meaningful, closely contested ballgame. The Spartans and Panthers have shared a stranglehold over the district in recent years.

“The last five years, I think it’s a five-five split, between winning the district and the tournament,” Cassidy said. “There’s a lot of common respect between our two programs.”

Terango agreed.

“Oh, yeah. Bird had to have Magic,” Terango joked. “It’s a nice little rivalry. But our kids had something to prove, and they came out and proved it tonight.”

After claiming the Dulles tourney title, the Panthers ran their customary post-game wind sprints, joyously holding aloft their most recent trophy.

Spartans not empty-handed

Broad Run was not without recognition during the post-game award ceremonies. In addition to their trophy as the Dulles District’s regular season champion, the Spartans saw Cassidy honored as the district’s Coach Of the Year for the fourth time in his 15 seasons piloting his alma mater.

Further, Spartan senior pitcher Taylor Clarke, set to play for Towson University next year, was named the district’s Most Valuable Player.

Potomac Falls and Broad Run earned first-round byes in the Region II baseball tournament. The Panthers will play at Skyline and the Spartans will host either Fluvanna or Sherando. Both quarterfinals games are scheduled for May 31.

Potomac Falls 3, Broad Run 1

WP: Rogers (7 IP, 1 ER, 8 K, 4 H, 3 BB)
RBI: PF - Miller 2, Caldwell; BR - Bargiel

PF - 5 hits, 0 errors
BR - 4 hits, 2 errors